Exhibitions

On the Shoulders of Giants: Photographic Portraits from the University of Cambridge

Part of the University of Cambridge’s celebration of its 800th anniversary, this exhibition of photographic portraits by accomplished Cambridge photographer Howard Guest offers an intriguing insight into the working life of one of the world’s most celebrated academic institutions.

This series of portraits captures a diverse range of University academics, students and staff in their place of work, emphasising the significance of the individual in the University’s internationally acclaimed work. Subjects featured in the exhibition include Professor Stephen Hawking, Astronomer Royal and President of the Royal Society Professor Lord Martin Rees, Vice-Chancellor Professor Alison Richard, students, lecturers, porters, surgeons and a glass blower, in locations as varied as the Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charles Darwin’s rooms in Christ’s College, the Fitzwilliam Museum’s own conservation studio and a tower sealed for years after scientists’ atomic experiments. Howard Guest’s privileged access to a wide range of people and places illuminates many areas of University life and work that have previously remained unseen by many, providing a rare glimpse of locations that are not generally accessible to the public.

On the Shoulders of Giants is the Museum’s first exhibition dedicated solely to photography, and acts as a unique visual record of the modern University of Cambridge.

The exhibition is accompanied by a special publication which will be available from the Museum’s Courtyard Shop, a virtual exhibition and a podcast.

On the Shoulders of Giants Podcast

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